Jail-transport van wrecks on I-430; highways clog

The Arkansas Online traffic map at 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 7, 2014, shows traffic heavily congested throughout central Arkansas.
The Arkansas Online traffic map at 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 7, 2014, shows traffic heavily congested throughout central Arkansas.

A vehicle crash on the Interstate 430 river bridge involving a jail-transport van Friday morning has caused heavy traffic congestion in central Arkansas.

A Washington County sheriff's office transport van was involved in the crash that backed up Interstates 430 and 40 for a large part of Friday morning, Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said. Nine of the jail inmates were taken to an area hospital, Sadler said. He added that he didn't have details on where on the I-430 bridge the accident occurred but that traffic was being routed around the crash scene.

Arkansas Online's traffic map showed traffic at a standstill along I-430 in each direction, on Maumelle Boulevard and on Interstate 40 east and west.

Cassandra Green, who by 8:20 a.m. had been stuck on Maumelle Boulevard for an hour and 20 minutes trying to get to I-430 South, said an accident on the interstate had backed up that road and I-40 from Conway but that she'd seen no ice on the pavement. Green says on a normal day, her trip takes 15 minutes.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said Friday morning via Twitter that all highways and interstates in the state were free of ice and snow, and some forecasters said Friday morning that freezing fog could have caused slick conditions. The National Weather Service said fog should persist through mid-morning.

Correction: The van involved in the accident was previously identified as a prison van, but Sadler later clarified that the van was a Washington County sheriff's office transport van. The change has been made in the story above.

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